TNAG-1850-FCO40-2625-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1989 — Page 67

1989-06-12 17:31 COI RADIO TECH SERVICES.

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TRANSCRIPT B: SELECT COMMITTER OF HONG KONG 12 JUNE 1989

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SIR DAVID WILSON (CONTD) :

On the second part: yes, as I see it, the British

Governmant, by signing a treaty has an obligation to

ensure that the terms of the treaty are fulfilled for the

whole course of it, which 16 for 50 years after 1997.

I do not suppose you expect me to go into detail of

precisely what I recommend to the Foreign Secretary but

that in a time of the general point is quite clear:

✔

trouble like this and it 16 a time of trouble for Hong

Kong

we do need support from Britain to try to reassure

people. That is a gencral message,

MR. MICHAEL JOPLING:

mind

M

Sir David, bearing in mind the not dissimilar events

which took place a few months ago in Tibet, and bearing in

I put it delicately the extreme touchiness which

any question concerning those events created among the

leadership in Beijing and their really rather apparent

resentment in being asked about it, do you think that it

might be that the pause in the negotiations which you have spoken about with regard to the Basic Law and the basis of the Joint Declaration, that it may be quite a little time

before one will be able to resume those negotiations if the Chinese leadership is as tuuchy over the recent events

in Beijing as they were over Tibet?